The Sweetest Egg of Them All
by Komiko
Summary: One-shot: For the first time, Riku dreads the annual Easter egg hunt. But a stranger in the woods may change her point of view.


/commencer/

The Sweetest Egg of Them All

_-_

"Riku! Riku! Hurry up! We won't get any of the good Easter eggs, you slow-poke!" The morning of Easter dawned as a perfect day, with the sun's warmth coupled by a caressing breeze. Risa stood right in front of the gate that led to the park, and she was impatiently waving her arms in the air to try to get the attention of her twin, who was currently engrossed in the clouds drifting over the flawless blue sky. At her sister's shout, however, she turned and huffed.

"Jeez, Risa, I'm coming!" She hurriedly jogged the rest of the way, as fast as her short legs would carry her.

"Silly, don't ruin your dress!" Risa giggled before hooking her arm with Riku's and entering the fairytale-esque park.

Although egg-hunting on Easter Sunday had been a tradition of the Harada twins since Riku could remember, she was starting to attain a feeling of boredom, even at the tender age of nine (well, her grandmother did say she was too stubborn for her own good). Their parents would dress them in similar white dresses, hand them brown wicker baskets, and send them on their way to Feraki Park. All the children in the city would gather on that morning, and the egg hunting would begin! After all the eggs were deemed ferreted out, the children were released, and Riku and Risa would proudly march home and gobble up the candy stored in the eggs. Well, that's how it was supposed to happen.

Unfortunately, while Risa still held on to the charm of that delightful day, Riku was slightly less disillusioned (in her opinion). So maybe there was all the free candy she could have. Wasn't that the purpose of Halloween? Besides, she didn't want to wear a dumb white dress anyway. Really, what was the purpose of this stupid tradition?

However, being the concerned parents they were, Riku was forced to accompany her sister in order to ensure her safety. Sometimes, being the older twin had its disadvantages.

"All right kiddies! Are you ready to find the eggs that I've hidden all around this park?" The Easter Bunny stood on top of a platform, microphone in hand so he could be heard above the din. Although, if Riku was to believe in the rumors at school, it was really just a fat, lazy, old man in a bunny suit only pretending to be the Easter Bunny so he could brainwash all the children to do his evil bidding. Good thing Riku wasn't one to believe in rumors...

A hush fell over the crowd as they waited for the signal. The anticipation was building in each of their quivering little bodies, ready to spring loose when the word was given...

"Go!"

As one, the throng of children rushed out into the woods, eagerly searching for the tiny marker that would indicate an egg was buried underneath.

Now, Feraki Park was quite a grand park, for which fact Riku was beginning to appreciate greatly. She could roam around as she pleased and only occasionally be greeted by another ferociously egg-hunting kid.

However, after the first ten minutes, this was beginning to become quite tiresome as Riku was left only to her own thoughts, which she found random and boring. She had almost considered joining the random masses, when she heard laughter coming from behind a line of trees. Figuring she would take her chances, she peeked around the leaves. Her eyes widened in astonishment as she beheld the scene of a boy (who looked to be about her age) talking and playing with the oddest looking creature she had ever seen. It looked faintly bunny-like (but she could just have bunnies on the brain), with long, floppy ears and a furry white body. She gasped in surprise as it seemed to chirp, and her hand instantly flew to her mouth. The boy and the bunny-creature looked up quickly and Riku's amber eyes locked with the boy's brown ones. She was too startled to move and only seemed to remember that she had a body when the boy spoke.

"Um, heh heh, hey there."

Without thinking, Riku bolted.

"Wait, wait! I'm sorry, please don't run away!" She heard the boy's shouts and, for some reason, stopped but didn't turn around.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you. I just didn't think anyone would...find me. Um, uh, are you all right?"

Hearing the concern in his voice, Riku slowly turned around. The boy looked quite uncomfortable, and he was uncertainly scratching the back of his head. The little furry thing was nowhere in sight.

"Um, where did your little...thing go?"

"Huh?" Riku almost laughed at the cute, quizzical expression on the boy's face.

"The white, furry thing."

"Oh, you saw him, did you?" The boy sighed. "I really have to work on my lying skills. Um, well, he's currently hiding because technically, you're not supposed to see him."

Riku scoffed at this. "What, is he your imaginary friend or something?"

"Well, he is kinda odd-looking, don't you think?"

"In...a way..."

"He's friendly though!" The boy perked up and waved to a branch. "Hey, With, come on down, it's okay for now!"

Riku glanced up and saw two big red eyes peering down at her, with an almost challenging look in their red depths. She giggled and proceeded to accept the challenge.

"Um, hello? You two? You're not in a...staring match...are you?"

"Shut up, or else I'll lose!"

"Right, wouldn't want that to happen..."

"Ha! You blinked!" Riku merrily jumped up and down in triumph. The furry thing, With, jumped down to the ground and seemed to stick its nose up at her. _You've won this round..._

"So, are you here for the egg hunt?"

Riku stopped her triumph dance and sat down on the grass.

"Yea, it's a tradition for my sister and me." Riku started a bit when the boy with the spiky hair sat next to her.

"So, why aren't you egg hunting?" Riku titled her head back and looked up to the mesmerizing sky before answering.

"It's always the same, every year. We wear similar matching dresses, because we're twins, you know, and we have our little baskets, and we race around all morning just to get a few eggs to scarf down some candy that we can already buy at a store!"

"Bitter, aren't you?" The boy chuckled and Riku giggled again.

"Not so much bitter as...bored."

"Oh, I see."

Riku turned to her head to look at him.

"So, why aren't you egg hunting?"

"Um, egg hunting? Not really for me. I just wanted to play with With, and I kinda forgot it was the egg hunt day."

"Oh, I see."

The silence between the two kids stretched before the boy spoke softly.

"Have you told your sister how you feel?"

The question surprised Riku. Tell her sister how she felt? That made no sense to the nine-year-old.

"I don't get it."

"Well, if you're so bored, why don't you tell her?"

Riku blinked once, then twice, then laughed, rolling around on the ground. She was still wiping the tears out of her eyes when she looked up and saw that the boy had the most innocent and quizzical look on his face, almost as if he was serious. Then, realization dawned. He _was_ serious.

"I can't do that," Riku stated firmly.

"Why not?" The boy titled his head.

"Because it might hurt her feelings."

"Oh." The boy didn't understand, but Riku didn't know how else to explain it. So, she merely shrugged.

"I mean, if she knew, then she might be able to help you out, um, make it more interesting. You love your sister, right?" Riku nodded vigorously. "Well, it isn't good to keep secrets between loved ones. I mean, that's how I've been taught..." The boy trailed off nervously, rubbing the back of his head. Riku, however, looked surprisingly thoughtful.

"I guess you're right. If you love them, you want to share the best of you."

The boy nodded his agreement slowly.

"It kinda makes sense, in a weird, perfect life way."

The boy furrowed his eyebrows. "Well, I think it takes time, to get that way."

"Just as long as I'm not some old grandma by that time."

The two kids grinned at one another.

"Hey, isn't the egg hunt going to be over soon?"

Riku sighed.

"I guess I have to leave then." She sighed again before heavily lifting her body off the ground. She brushed herself off and started to leave before his hand tugged on her sleeve. She looked back and saw he was holding an egg in his hand. Riku's eyes widened.

"W-what..."

"In case your sister gets suspicious."

Riku dumbly stared at the egg before reaching out and placing it in her basket. She looked at the boy.

"Thank...you..."

"No problem!" The boy cheerily stood up and began to walk in the opposite direction, With perched on his shoulder. Riku stared at his retreating figure before he turned around and waved goodbye to her. Suddenly, as if a great surge of energy rushed through her small body, she threw her arm up and waved back. He smiled, then continued on his way, disappearing around a corner. Riku still stood in the same position until she slowly turned in the direction she needed to go. Then she stopped.

"I don't know his name."

Looking back, Riku would remember that moment as the first time she felt total disorientation, a sense of falling up a down escalator. But it passed, and the young Riku shrugged it off and simply skipped down the tree-shadowed lane.

_-_

"One! You only got one!" Risa shrieked in shock, horror written all over her face. Riku glared at her twin.

"I was unlucky, okay? You can always give me one of yours..." Risa snatched her basket away.

"Nuh-uh, I worked hard for these eggs!" Risa stuck her tongue out. Riku rolled her eyes, but didn't comment. The sisters started for home.

"Are you sure that you were looking for eggs? Or did you slack off, as usual."

Riku walked in contemplative thought. She didn't want to really tell her sister about the boy she met. For some reason, she felt as if he was a secret, a secret she wanted all to herself. But..._you want to share the best of you_.

"Yea, you're right! I just wandered around, nothing to do!"

"Ha! I knew it! You're so easy to guess, Riku. You should really work on that." Risa flipped her hair and skipped ahead.

Riku rolled her eyes again, but her hands twisted her one egg.

Someday, Risa, I'll tell you.

I promise.

/fin/

A/N: Well that's it, then.


End file.
